Additional Five Montana Counties Also Eligible Due to Idaho Primary Drought Designations
This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.
Triggering Disaster #1
Impacted Area: Montana
Triggering Disaster: Drought
Application Deadline: 3/16/2026
Primary Counties Eligible:
Montana: Daniels, Garfield, McCone, Mineral, Missoula, Phillips, Roosevelt, Sanders and Valley
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
Idaho: Bonner, Clearwater, Idaho and Shoshone
Montana: Blaine, Custer, Dawson, Fergus, Flathead, Granite, Lake, Lincoln, Petroleum, Powell, Prairie, Ravalli, Richland, Rosebud and Sheridan
North Dakota: McKenzie and Williams
Triggering Disaster #2
Impacted Area: Montana
Triggering Disaster: Drought
Application Deadline: 3/16/2026
Primary Counties Eligible:
Montana: Hill, Liberty and Toole
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
Montana: Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier and Pondera
Triggering Disaster #3
Impacted Area: Idaho
Triggering Disaster: Drought
Application Deadline: 3/16/2025
Primary Counties Eligible:
Idaho: Clearwater, Idaho, Lemhi, Lewis and Shoshone
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
Idaho: Adams, Benewah, Bonner, Butte, Clark, Custer, Kootenai, Latah, Nez Perce and Valley
Montana: Beaverhead, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli and Sanders
Oregon: Wallowa
More Resources
On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help you determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.
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